March 27, 2014

D23's Attraction Rewind a Move in the Wrong Direction

When D23 hosts an "Attraction Rewind" at Walt Disney World, they open themselves up to a lot of criticism for the company. Why? This is easy: Here they set up hard core fans for a look backwards. A look at cool, old school attractions like 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea, If You Had Wings, and the Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island. Attractions and venues fans are passionate about. Ever travel through the Might Microscope for an Adventure Thru Inner Space? If so, you remember classic Imagineering, and it is attractions such as these that made you fall in love with the parks. 

What will looking backward do? It won't make fans forget the future. It will only emphasize the comparison of the old days to what the company is churning out now. Especially at Walt Disney World, where great, iconic attractions like the original Journey Into Imagination has been transformed into the mess it is today- a world where Alien Encounter morphs into the dreadful Stitch and the Yeti remains broken at Expedition Everest.

For every Cars Land and Radiator Springs Racers, for every Mystic Manor, for every Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, there's a host of misfires, sloppy stage shows, quick meet and greets, and resting on nostalgia and reputation in place of groundbreaking experiences. Attraction Rewind will only point a laser focus on what is... and what is lacking.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

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